I have to admit - when it comes to soccer, I feel a patriotic attachment to Germany...

BTW, it should be noted that Germany's coach Klinsmann lives in California. He has introduced American style training methods to the German squad, and was harshly criticized for it by the German media (and even by Franz Beckenbauer, Germany's popular former head coach).

One of the special features of the IDF's (Israeli Defense Force) Gaza operation is the minimal damage to civilian human life. Constant care is taken to spare the civilian Palestine population.

This interview in the Jerusalem Post with Israel Air Force chief Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Shkedy explains the ethics behind the Israeli operations:

Q: If they (the terrorists) are making themselves ever harder to hit, the chances of hitting only them...

A: Are becoming ever more complicated.

Q: So, are we relaxing our limitations in determining when to fire?
When we see his son in the car with him, that's it, we don't fire? Or
do we say, "His son's always with him." And he's firing at us every
day.

A: The question is very appropriate and no, we're not relaxing our limitations.

Q: Instead, we're improving our accuracy?

A: Our answer is to create a situation where you hit within a
meter, a meter and a half. If we know that [the terrorist] is holding
his son's hand, we do not fire. Even if the terrorist is in the midst
of firing a Kassam, and the Kassam is aimed to kill. We do not fire.
You should know that. And that's a fearsome thing.

Q: So we open the door to him to keep firing at us?

A: Yes. And that is the kind of dilemma we live with every day and I'm very pleased you asked me about it.

I'm very proud of what we do. I think it is unprecedented. I'm proud of our morals. I'm proud of our operational capabilities.

Q: Maybe in the end we'll kill more people because we weren't
ruthless enough at the start, because we encouraged them to become
bolder? Maybe we're too moral, for our own good and theirs?

A: That's a very interesting philosophical question, with practical consequences. And yet I'll tell you something...

(Shkedy pauses here for a full 20 seconds.) Ultimately our
strength is not solely our military power. That's part of our strength.
The strength of the Jewish people in the State of Israel and the Land
of Israel is first and foremost our profound moral strength. Everything
stems from that.

If we were to lower our standards, not to find a solution that
meets the highest ethical standards, that would be a mistake with far
more, immense significance for us as a nation and a state and as people
than the operational error.

That's the great strength that I believe in. That's how I
educate the people [in the IAF], and that's what the air force does.
And, still, I'm aware that this is war, with live fire, and things will
happen that I don't want to happen. Because to protect your child and
my child, that can happen. (emphasis added)

Shkedy's explanation shows how inappropriate it is to equalize the Hamas terrorists' actions with those of Israel. There is no moral equivalence: the terrorists deliberately target civilians, while Israel takes great care to avoid actions even against terrorists if civilians are around. (For example, the IDF informed civilians in the Gaza strip about forthcoming air attacks.) That's why it is grossly misleading to talk of a "cycle of violence" between two brutal military powers, as for instance Joerg Bremer, Israel correspondent of the FAZ, and scores of other German Israel correspondents constantly do.

It's the rules of cause (Hamas terrorism) and effect (Israeli response) that govern this conflict. Probably too simple a fact for the sophisticated minds of German journalists...

This outstanding event will allow us to showcase top articles on German-American relations and serve as a central forum for discussion within the blogosphere. After conferring with Atlantic Review, the site that organizes the carnival every few months, we agreed to open the English-language entries to everyone, including non-bloggers.

Submitting Articles

Here's how to submit entries (via Atlantic Review): "To participate in this carnival, all you have to do is write a new blog post about US-German relations or pick a very good older post that is still relevant and submit this post by inserting the following text and link: "Submitted to Carnival of German-American Relations." If you don't have a blog, you can create one in three minutes at Blogger or write a long and well argued comment here."

Revelations of American "spying" on international financial transactions have provided further opportunity for some in German media to take the usual cheap shots at the United States. One particularly ugly example is a commentary by SZ author Kurt Kister that seems to imply that US soldiers are involved in an organized campaign of murder. He writes:

"The number of cases in which US soldiers have murdered in Iraq and not just killed in fighting has gotten so big that one can no longer speak of regrettable isolated incidents."

So what is Kister implying? It sounds as if he believes American soldiers are engaged in a campaign of murder that is simply being allowed to take its course.It sounds as if he believes the US government condones (or even encourages) murder. It also sounds as if Mr. Kister is confusing murder charges with murder convictions and, like so many in the German media, believes American soldiers to be guilty until proven innocent. In fact, the reason we hear about such cases is often because soldiers charged with misconduct are tried in a court of law by their own government.

Mr. Kister also claims that the collection of information on international financial transactions by the United States is a further sign that the US is willing to violate, "established law, international conventions and moral benchmarks." At the same time he does not offer a single specific example of which law, convention or benchmark has been violated.

He claims that he calls the "intelligence-political complex" can kidnap, torture and disappear those it finds suspect whenever it deems the action appropriate. The "intelligence-political complex"? Is this a new construct (much like the "military-industrial complex") that the paranoid Euro-leftist must now fear? It is true that in the war on terror, individuals have been wrongfully detained, tortured and even killed. But to claim that an "intelligence-political complex" exists which seeks to engage in such activities is simply absurd. Above all, it is the typical one-sided telling of the story that we have come to expect of wide segments of the German media.

Additionally, Mr. Kister insists that the United States has repeatedly violated or suspended the common values that serve as the foundation for German-American relations. But perhaps he failed to consider that German trade with Iran, Sudan and Cuba might also be perceived by some Americans as a violation of "common values." Perhaps he failed to recognize that housing discrimination against minorities, which is perfectly legal in Germany, might be considered a threat to common values. Perhaps he failed to reflect that prostitution and human trafficking in Germany are a threat to common values. What Mr. Kister clearly did assume is that Germans, and particularly German journalists, occupy the moral high ground and have only to lecture down to their American "friends."

Here's an idea: Maybe Mr. Kister and other Germans worried about America's "transgressions" against their "values," particularly at places like Camp Gitmo, should consider the advice of journalist Florian Klenk. Mr. Klenk writes that if Europeans are really interested in seeing Guantanamo shut down, they should offer asylum to the remaining inmates. His article's name: "Volunteers Forward!" So far no one has volunteered...

Germany is loving the World Cup and the usually pessimistic German media can't help but succumb to the euphoria. SPIEGEL ONLINE is no exception. The magazine was so overwhelmed by the positive fussball-vibes that it recently ran a feature headline declaring that the World Cup had helped "end stereotypes" against Germans.

According to the article, the perceptions of Germans as pessimistic complainers or humorless control freaks are wilting beneath the bright lights of soccer stadiums and festive beer gardens. Even the Brits and the Dutch are convinced: Germans are a hospitable, enthusiastic, downright wonderful folk, not the ugly semi-Nazi krauts that they always imagined their neighbors to be.

We at Medienkritik couldn't be happier. As German citizens, we are more than happy to see ugly stereotypes die once and for all. Let us hope...

On the other hand, SPIEGEL ONLINE is a bit premature in declaring an "end of the stereotypes." After all, the same magazine that now raves over the apparent evaporation of anti-German stereotypes has itself spread hateful stereotypes about the United States for years. Just look at these covers depicting Americans as conceited-imperialist-torturing-cowboy-Rambo-blood-for-oil-mercenaries stuck in a Vietnam-like quagmire-debacle-disaster-civil war. Did we mention cowboys? Ouch!

So much for an "end of the stereotypes." If SPIEGEL ONLINE doesn't want Germans negatively stereotyped, why do they stereotype Americans with such relish on an almost daily basis? This must all have something to do with pleasing the million readers and moving those magazines. Cynicism sells...

UPDATE: Speaking of cultural ignorance, a British author at The Independent seems to think that the German national anthem still begins "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles..." The sad part is, I don't think he was kidding... (Hattip Joerg)

UPDATE #2: Here is an American soldier stationed in Germany who doesn't fit the ugly stereotypes popularized by SPIEGEL ONLINE and other media outlets. Don't expect to hear much about him in the German press...

Some myths die hard. Like the media hype that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war. Parts of Iraq are undoubtedly wracked by violence. But most of the media let the civil war canard die slowly and softly in recent weeks, particularly after the recent decapitation of Al-Qaeda and the formation of a unity government in Iraq. Not SPIEGEL ONLINE. In an article entitled "Baghdad Bathes in Blood," the magazine gives readers a thorough roundup of recent violence in Iraq and concludes that it represents "daily life in a civil war." It is particularly interesting to note that SPIEGEL ONLINE ran remarkably few such "bloodbath" articles while Saddam Hussein was busily butchering hundreds-of-thousands of Iraqi civilians. Saddam's atrocities certainly weren't the daily bread-and-butter headlines that recent Iraqi deaths have become. Call it asymmetric journalism.

"Baghdad Bathes in Blood": Just the headline you need after a week of US success in Iraq. The use of a light-skinned, bloodied little girl in the photo is a particularly cynical means to manipulate the emotions of the reading audience.

The article also claims that Bush is (you guessed it) under increasing "pressure" to withdraw troops. This despite the fact that another article linked just beneath it which details the crushing defeat dealt to advocates of withdrawal by the US Congress. As far as we can tell by reading SPIEGEL ONLINE, President Bush has been under unbearable, massive and increasing pressure since at least 2001. It's amazing how he seems to recover time and again.

In all fairness the "bloodbath" article actually does give brief mention to US successes against Al-Qaeda, in a short final paragraph preceded by ten paragraphs of blood and gore. Just the sort of fair and balanced journalism the German media is so famous for...

From my personal experience I would guess that 10 out of 10 Germans think that the German "social" way of doing business is far superior to the American kapitalistische System. For further proof read this article by art critic Jerry Saltz in artnet:

In Germany I had a couple of encounters that gave me a glimpse of what's going on there, a hint of what many Berliners think of us, and a way to gauge two shows of German artists currently on view in the same Chelsea building. Both brushes had to do with money and the market. The first was actually cumulative; numerous dealers repeatedly and snippily told me that New York is "all about the market" and "only concerned with money." This was often said in huge galleries amid sold-out shows of pricey art. Initially I just acceded and shrugged. After a few days of this I got my "these-colors-don't-run" dander up and huffily said to a group of dealers, "You show the same artists that are shown in New York. You participate in the same art fairs and sell to the same collectors. The euro is stronger than the dollar and you're making as much or more money as anyone. New York galleries are slicker, but Berlin is as 'about the market' as anywhere." They all looked at one another, then gave me that sly smile that says "Poor silly American." (emphasis added)

Problem is, the results of Germany's superior social-economic model are not always very convincing...

Proudly presenting the original English version of Jeffrey Gedmin's latest article in WELT.

Hypocrisy in the West:
Iran and the Peace Movement
Column in "Die Welt", 21.06.2006
By Jeffrey Gedmin

Look at it this way, says Mohammad Ali Ramin: "So long as Israel exists
there will never be peace." The Iranian Presidential adviser also told
students in Rasht recently that the holocaust rumour and bird flu were
somehow inter-related, the latter being a conspiracy by the West to
destract
from its failures in the Middle East. Ramin said killing chickens was
part
of a plot to control prices. He also seems to believe that Jews once
caused
the plague and typhus because "Jews are very filthy people."

As all
this
does sound just a tad dangerous, I keep wondering what happened to the
peace
movement.
The peace movement has always been anti-nuclear. Iran wants the bomb.
The
peace movement loves the U.N. and international law. Teheran defies the
International Atomic Energy Agency. The peace movement condemns the
"arms
race." When Iran goes nuclear, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey will
also
want the bomb. The peace movement cherishes human rights. The mullahs
stone
women. The peace movement is modern, multicultural, and secular.
President
Ahmadinejad believes in the Hidden Imam and relishes a clash of
civilizations. The peace movement likes peace. The Iranian leader has
called
for a U.N. member state to be wiped off the face of the earth.

The peace movement is once again exposed as a farce and a fraud. During
the
Cold War it thrived on anti-Americanism and a good dose of Soviet block
support. It was back recently when George W. Bush said he would compel
Saddam Hussein to comply with U.N. resolutions. In Berlin, half a
million
people took to the streets. Teachers, students, churches, trade unions.
It
is hard to remember too many of these folks lifting a finger for the
people
of Iraq before or ever since.

And those banners declaring "No Blood for Oil"? Do the peaceniks know
that
Europe depends on Middle Eastern oil even more than the United States?
Saudi
Arabia is one of Germany's most important trading partners in the
region.
Iran is the other. During Gerhard Schroeder's last year in office,
German
exports to Iran rose by 33.4 percent (3.6

At the half: First two ridiculous red cards against Italy. Now an outrageous penalty in the box to give Ghana the lead back right after the US scored to tie it up. Maybe we should just let the refs decide who wins the cup at this point. I totally agree with those who have been screaming for days for the officials to LET THE PLAYERS PLAY. It's hardly surprising to see articles like this at this point...

The Story of this World Cup for the USA: Oberlehrer Merk calls a bogus foul, setting Ghana up for an easy goal... (more pics here)

Nearly 70 minutes in...the US misses two attempts by millimeters, one off the post...this one has heartbreak written all over it. Maybe they can still come back...

It wasn't to be. Tough week in sports: First Dirk and the Mavs lose and now this. The US is eliminated and Ghana moves on. The US just couldn't execute near the goal and a few close misses fell short. Maybe Germany will go far this time. They probably won't get as many bogus calls made on them. Some people in the ESPN chat room are actually suggesting the US team had bad calls made against it because America "is so disliked" around the world. Gag...

In January 2005, then German Chancellor Schroeder celebrated the birth of the new European A380 super jumbo jet. He said the A380 showed the advantages of "good old Europe." Traditions like cooperation, he said, fairness towards all employees of a company and social sensitivity had helped lead the company to success and major technological achievement. "Europe is still in a great position to set the tone of the future," he said.

Well, the future is now. And the A380 looks more like a disaster than a success.

On January 18, 2005, European leaders proudly celebrated the presentation of the new A380 plane from EADS, the partially state-owned European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company. EADS is the parent company of Airbus, maker of the A380.

Airbus employees celebrate the presentation of the A380 -a success of European cooperationand of social sensivity (watch the flying hats!)

SPIEGEL ONLINE, known for it's negative reporting on all matters American, wrote in an admiring, almost jubilant tone about the event:

With a multimedia spectacle, European airplane-maker Airbus celebrated the birth of its new A380 super jumbo jet... A blue light then shined through the darkened hall and clouds of dry ice rolled over the stage. The guests were treated to "Flight Adventure," a show intended to illustrate humans' ages-old dreams of taking flight like a bird. Small models depicted windmills and airplanes and dancers filled the stage with accompanying choreography. A second, modern half of the show, projected images of the history of Airbus on giant monitors. ...

Throughout, the day's star -- the very first A380, sporting a fresh coat of paint and an impressive 24 meters high, 73 meters long and with a tail-width of 80 meters -- remained hidden in the background.

The high point came one and a half hours into the show: The four statesmen, posing on steel scaffolding in front of the Airbus symbolically pushed a button christening the aircraft. With one touch, the A380 became visible under full light for the first time. Choir music filled the hall and the blitz of photographers' flash bulbs began. The company also unveiled its modern new logo on the plane's tail fin.

Of course, EADS/Airbus managers as well as politicians were full of praise about this sensational success story of European cooperation:

"Europe has written one of the most beautiful pages in its history today," said Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard. "Today we're No. 1 in the high technology sector." (...) "The christening of the A380 is for all of us a moment of emotion and pride," French President Jacques Chirac said, describing the super jumbo as a "great success for Europe." He added that he hoped people would take that success and use it to help transform Europe into the world's "headquarters for technology."

German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (now with Russia Inc.) used the occasion for a not-so-veiled criticism of the neocon, purely capitalist USA:

Gently playing off the American competition, Germany's Schroeder said the A380 example showed the advantages of "good old Europe." Traditions like cooperation, he said, fairness towards all employees of a company and social sensitivity had helped lead the company to success and major technological achievement. "Europe is still in a great position to set the tone of the future," he said.

Well, the future is now. And the A380 looks more like a disaster than a success. A European disaster, to be precise:

EADS Shares Plunge on Airbus A380 Delays, Higher Cost June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Airbus SAS's parent had a record plunge after the planemaker announced a second delay of deliveries of the A380 superjumbo. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co.'s stock fell 26 percent, wiping out 5.5 billion euros ($6.9 billion) of value. Emirates, the largest customer for Airbus's A380, and Singapore Airlines Ltd. said they are seeking compensation from the European planemaker for the delays. ``I'm extremely sorry'' for the delays, caused by production bottlenecks, said Co-Chief Executive Noel Forgeard, 59, on a conference call with analysts. ``I built my entire industrial career on building confidence with shareholders. This announcement comes as a big blow.''

At least four airlines say they plan to renegotiate their orders for the new Super Jumbo Jets. Airbus warns delays and late delivery penalties could cut the company's operating profits by $625 million every year from 2007 until 2010.

PARIS, June 16 — The embattled co-chief executive of European Aeronautic Defense and Space on Friday defended the timing of his sale of EADS shares as a "coincidence," as French and German market regulators announced investigations into the drop in the company's stock.

In a radio interview, the chief executive, Noël Forgeard, also confirmed that the group's Airbus unit first told senior managers at EADS in April about possible delays to the delivery schedule of the A380 — almost two months before the problem was disclosed to shareholders, but a month after he and his children sold shares worth millions of euros.

Documents filed with the French market regulator, the AMF, show that Mr. Forgeard exercised options on EADS shares in March and sold them for a profit of 2.5 million euros, or about $3 million. Forgeard's children and two EADS board members, François Auque and Jean-Paul Gut, also sold shares around the same period. (emphasis added)

What a beautiful example of traditional European cooperation! Also, EADS' regard for the interests of it's top management is a shining example of European social sensivity.

The kings of cynicism at Sueddeutsche Zeitung managed to spin a story about saving Flipper the dolphin into a diatribe against Guantanamo Bay. The article in question, "George W. Bush, Discoverer of the Oceans," blames Bush for reaching the decision to protect the ocean without consulting others. How rude! How insensitive! He didn't ask Congress or the European "friends" whether it was ok to save the whales! The opening passages and accompanying photo say it all:

"Acting alone, President Bush made the small Hawaiian islands into the world's largest protected area. But why? Did he want to do his wife a favor?

The decision came overnight, and surprised even those environmental groups friendly to the government: The President, who terminated (US participation in) the Kyoto Protocol, who wants to open the last pristine wilderness in Alaska to oil drilling platforms, has with one stroke of the pen and with one signature, with practically no prior notice, created the largest oceanic preserve in the world.

Caption: Bush doesn't swim with the group like these Hawaiian fish; He reaches decisions unilaterally."

It is roughly in this manner that we arrive at the article's final section. Naturally, it is about the evils of Guantanamo, perfectly designed to please the Bush-hating groundlings who read SZ. According to Reymer Kluever, Bush set up Guantanamo and arbitrarily decided to strip the inmates of the Geneva Conventions, just as he arbitrarily decided to protect the oceans. Mr. Kluever conveniently forgets that the Geneva Conventions were created to protect members of national armies, not stateless terrorists. He also ignores the fact that former President Clinton also issued an Executive Order (two days before leaving office) for the same region affected by the most recent Bush decree.

But what do details matter? Bush is always wrong. Why won't Americans just listen to the honest, heartfelt, constructive criticism coming from their cousins on the German left? Forget about protecting Flipper American friends...it's time to let the terroristsinnocent vegetable gardeners at Camp Gitmo go.

If you read German, check out this outstanding interview with Victor Davis Hanson via German bloggers Politically Incorrect or Kewil. If anyone has a link to an English translation, please let us know via email or leave a comment here. Here is another piece by Hanson in English that is also a must read. The following passage applies not only to much of the American Left, but to wide segments of the German Left as well:

"Third, there is a fine line to be drawn between legitimate criticism of a war that is supposedly not worth American blood and treasure, and general slander of the United States and its military. Yet much of the Left’s rhetoric was not merely anti-Bush, but in its pessimism devolved into de facto anti-Americanism."

Isn't that what we've been saying for the past three years? Bravo Mr. Hanson. That one is going on our sidebar...

We keep hearing and reading about polls showing how vast majorities in Europe distrust Bush and the reason for the Iraq war, how vast majorities in the Arab world distrust Bush and the reason for the Iraq war, and how America is divided over Bush and the Iraq war. However, on might think that the very least that an organization like the Pew Research Center could have done while gathering material for a global opinion poll centered on the war in Iraq would be to attempt to include a number of Iraqi nationals in said poll (who, if I am not mistaken, happen to be the population most affected by the current situation in Mesopotamia).As it happens, polls from Iraq -- both Western and Iraqi -- do exist. To mention only four (that are quoted in my book on anti-Americanism in France)... (cont'ed)

By definition, polls that do not blame "Bush and the neo-cons" for all the evil in the world and namely Iraq lack scientific rigour and therefore do not deserve to be presented to the German public.

Zarqawi eats two 500 pound bombs. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are bleeding profusely. Iraq just put together its elected government. The US Senate rejects a cut and run proposal 93-6. So tell us Joschka, do you still think America lacks the political will to stay the course in Iraq and the Middle East? Keep listening to the doom and gloom, out of touch, indoctrination media that refuses to acknowledge any positive progress and is busily reporting the daily casualty count. Reality may dawn eventually...

Top White House aide Karl Rove has been told by prosecutors he won't be charged with any crimes in the investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer said Tuesday, lifting a heavy burden from one of President Bush's most trusted advisers.

Not a happy day for SPIEGEL ONLINE and the likes... For weeks and months on end they painted a grim picture of the Bush administration's policies in the Valerie Plame case. Karl Rove's chances to survive the investigation politically seemed virtually nil, and Bush - of course - had to bear the dire consequences.

Hard to say what was worse for the German media in the last week: the early demise of Mr. Zarkawi or Rove's vindication. In both cases, the positive fallout for the Bush administration is hardly bearable für the anti-Bush media crowd in Germany.

Ah well, never mind. BUSH IS IN TROUBLE AGAIN!This just in, from the "independent experts of the British Oxford Research Group" (quote Tagesschau): The war against terror is bound to fail!

Never mind that the Oxford Research Group is a well known left-wing entity, much praised by peace initiatives for their aim "to assist in the building of a more secure world without nuclear weapons and to promote nonviolent solutions to conflict." Of course, the Oxford Research Group has a proud history of denigrading the anti-terror policies of the U.S. One of the study's authors, Paul Rogers, is a fervent critic of the U.S. policy toward Iraq. "Independent experts"? Hmm...

On a day like this the German media accept any warm body critizising George W. Bush...